We’ll love America, even if it doesn’t love us back

President Trump’s travel ban bothers me to my core. But what bothers me more is the false sympathy that’s present because of it.

Whether it’s a 40-year-old hijabi woman like my mother or a 15-year-old high school student like myself, any Muslim American can share her experience with veiled Islamophobia since 9/11. This ban lifts the veil. Sadly, we’ve learned to cope. Not with violence or anger, but with love.

Muslims across the U.S. have given everything they have for this country — whether it’s by saving lives in the medical field or giving their own life in military service. Nearly 6,000 U.S. servicemembers self-identify as Muslims, because Prophet Mohammed taught us, “Love of one’s country is part of one’s faith.” And we will continue loving America, even if sometimes it does not love us back.

The Author

Sinaan Younus

Sinaan Younus, a sixth grade student at Perry Hall Middle School, is the youngest writer of the Muslim Writers Guild of America to publish in a major American newspaper. He has published in the Baltimore Sun and Perry Hall Patch. He enjoys playing sports and leisure reading in his free time.